When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Marketing

Hear ye hear ye… The recession is coming, the recession is coming. Well let me ask you, is a recession coming? Is a recession really coming? How do you know? I tell you what, if you believe it’s coming for you, you’re right, it is coming for you. Alternatively, if you believe it’s not coming for you, you’re right again, it’s not. How could that be? Well I firmly believe that your beliefs, one way or the other, act as a self-fulfilling prophecy. Your beliefs will guide your thoughts; which in turn will dictate your actions; which ultimately will shape your reality.

Now as a marketing guy I love the media however I have to caution you, be wary of them perpetuating your fears with the belief in a recession because where attention goes, energy flows. The more people that listen and buy into this fear, the more likely it is to become reality – at least for some. And for the media, doom and gloom gets ratings and sells papers so why wouldn’t they perpetuate it.

Now I’m not saying be uniformed or ignorant, or that the media is evil or something. Just be careful what you feed your mind. Keep looking for a recession, and you’ll find it.

In my opinion there is a right way and a wrong way to circumvent or if needed, navigate through a possible recession.

First, the wrong way... The word starts spreading of a recession looming in the near future. Panic starts to spread like wildfire with the majority of small businesses tightening their belts in anticipation of the tough times to come – for the most part, they will unjustifiably go from business building mode to survival mode. And one of the first things they’ll do is cut spending. Now unfortunately for most small businesses the first line item they seem to cut is the one that provides their sustenance and momentum – the marketing. As a result, the pipeline of prospects quickly starts to dry up and their fear of a recession becomes a reality – for them at least anyway.

Now the right way… The word starts spreading of a recession looming in the near future. Panic starts to spread like wildfire with the majority of your competition cutting their marketing efforts to try and save money. In turn realizing it or not, they’ve just cleared a path for you. They’ve uncluttered the airwaves making it easier for you to stand out from the pack and get noticed by, you guessed it… your target market. So while your competition’s sales pipeline quickly dries up, yours explodes with an abundance of new prospects. Hey, your target market will listen to whoever is doing the talking. And if you’re not doing the talking, someone else will… and that someone will most likely be one of your competitors.

So in closing, trust that opportunity and abundance surrounds all of us all of the time… even amidst the possibility of a looming recession. Let your competition bow to fear. Be bold… be unstoppable… don’t let anyone or anything other than you dictate your reality.

© 2008 Online Marketing Muscle -- All Rights Reserved.

Want to use this article in your newsletter, blog or web site? You have my blessing so long as you include the following complete blurb with it (including links).

Liked this article? -- Then check out Long Island-based marketing consultant, coach, and entrepreneur Dean Mercado’s highly acclaimed marketing blog 'The Motivational Marketer’s Journal' at http://www.MotivationalMarketer.com. Additionally, for even more small business marketing and success tips, sample the latest edition of his FREE marketing tips newsletter the 'Marketing Minute', -- a weekly multimedia e-zine designed to give you a jolt of marketing wisdom in less than 5 minutes.

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A Simple 3 Step System for Sizing-up Your Competition

"An organization's ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage." – Jack Welch

The key word that Jack Welch uses in this quote is action. And we’re not talking about undirected or aimless action here; we’re referring to action based upon knowledge. Now in terms of marketing ourselves and our businesses, that’s a core philosophy that we need to adhere to in order to produce better results. Otherwise, you may as well go to Vegas, because your marketing simply becomes gambling. And if you’re a gambler, you know very well that there is no such thing as a sure thing – not if you’re gambling legally and ethically anyway.

So with that being said, what I’d like to do is give you high-level exposure to my simple 3 step system for gaining a competitive advantage with a target market. Here goes:

1. Identify your Competitive Landscape
Before we begin this step, it’s important to note here that competition comes at us in two ways: both directly and indirectly.

Direct competitors are those ‘apples-to-apples’ type competitors. For example:

• Two or more newspapers going after the same subscriber base
• Two or more business coaches serving the same niche
• Two or more books by different authors covering the same topic

Indirect competitors are those ‘apples-to-oranges’ type competitors – they are not the same exact fruit however in some instances they fill the same need. For example:

• Yoga classes versus medication to provide relief for an ailing back
• Fast food versus diet pills to satisfy hunger
• The “do-it-yourselfer” versus a service provider

And we can go on and on and on here however I think you get the point

So go ahead and make a list of who you see as your top 5 to 10 competitors and remember to factor in both the direct and indirect ones.

2. Gather Key Data
Now that you’ve identified your key competitors, it’s time for you to really get to know them – it’s homework time – it’s time to dig in and do some research. At a minimum, I recommend you gather the following key data regarding the competitive business, product, or service – Maybe even make a little table or chart for yourself:

• What are their Strengths?
• What are their Weaknesses?
• What Opportunities do they create for you?
• What Threats do they pose for you?
• What Features do they offer?
• What Benefits do they claim?
• What’s their Unique Selling Proposition (USP)?
• What marketing Strategies & Tactics do they employ?

Alright now that you know what you need to collect, here are a few suggestions to help you find what you’re looking for:

• For starters, ‘Google’ them – search for their business, product, or service online and see what you find
• Next, check out their Web site – you may find everything you need right there
• Then, get on their mailing lists – usually you can do this by simply “opting-in” on their Web site
• And lastly, if you haven’t found what you’re looking for using the Internet, as an offline tactic, get to know your local Librarian and ask for their help – I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find that many of them are expert researchers

As you can see there are lots of ways to find out what you want to know – and the Internet has certainly made this process much easier.

3. Put That Data to Use
Let me reiterate that Jack Welch quote again. Now I know it’s twice in one article but it’s a really appropriate quote. So here goes: “An organization's ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage.”

Hmmm… So it’s what we do with what we discover in the first two steps of this system that can give us that edge that we’re looking for. Let me explain. You should leverage the information you uncover to determine how to uniquely position and promote yourself to your target market. Use it to differentiate yourself from the competition. Use it as input in creating your brand. Use it to determine what to say in your marketing to you target market. And ultimately, use it to help you determine what marketing strategies & tactics to use.

© 2007 Online Marketing Muscle -- All Rights Reserved.


Liked this article? Want to use it in your eZine, blog or web site? You have my blessing so long as you include the following complete blurb with it (including links).

Online entrepreneur Dean Mercado, "The Motivational Marketer", is creator of the acclaimed 'Pumped Up Networking' system geared to explode your business through professional relationships. To learn more about it and to sign up for his FREE eZine the 'Marketing Minute' – a weekly multimedia eZine designed to give you a jolt of marketing wisdom in less than 5 minutes, visit www.OnlineMarketingMuscle.com.

Are You Properly Leveraging This Potential Competitive Advantage?

"The Internet is the Viagra of big business." – Jack Welch

How true?! I love it! There’s simply no question about it that the arrival of the Internet has changed the way we do business – forever! For many of us it has provided that booster shot in the arm that allows us to play a much bigger and better game! We can now compete and play on a grander scale – accessing markets that at one time, may not have been readily available to us.

Now while the Internet can open doors for us, the flip side is that it also opens doors for others as well – exposing us to ever-increasing levels of competition.

Essentially, with the full-on arrival of the Internet, we have literally migrated, in what seems to be overnight, from a local to a global economy. It wasn’t that long ago where we used to buy all of our goods and services from local businesses within a 15-minute radius of where we lived and worked.

Nowadays, it no longer makes any difference where our vendors are located – unless it’s our preference of course. Loyalty to our local neighborhood businesses is continually being displaced by newfound competitors vying for a piece of our market share – literally wooing our target market with cheaper, faster, and easier ways to purchase alternatives – those alternatives being their products and services instead of ours. In a way it’s sad, it almost marks the end of an era, regardless though, it’s the cold reality and we as 21st century businesses need to leverage it on our behalf as best as possible.

So when we talk about marketing our businesses in this new millennium, it’s eminent that we factor in, in a big way this exploding marketing medium called the Internet.

Web sites, blogs, podcasts – want to boost your credibility, visibility, and reach with you’re your target market? Well these are the in-demand players on the block these days.

This is not to say that traditional offline marketing no longer works – it certainly does and very effectively I might add. My point is simply that you need to consider you online marketing options as well.

So what are some Internet marketing strategies and tactics that you can consider leveraging in your business?

• Well how about publishing a web site to boost your credibility?
• Or, publishing an eZine to communicate regularly to your target market?
• What about creating and virally circulating an eBook?
• How about connecting more personally with your target market by publishing a blog?
• High-speed Internet connections now afford us the ability to publish audio and video on the Web – so how about publishing a podcast?
• It doesn’t get much cheaper than running email marketing campaigns. How can you use them to add value to your target market?
• How about making it easier to buy from you by selling products and services directly from your web site?
• Ever thought about enrolling others to promote your products and services for you on a pay-for-performance basis with an affiliate program?
• How about establishing your credibility by writing articles and publishing them on numerous high-traffic web sites?
• What about networking yourself with your target market via online networking forums?
• Gain attention from the press by submitting press releases to a number of online public relations service web sites.
• And the list can go on and on and on!

So in closing, as you can probably tell, I love the Internet – in my book it’s pretty much the greatest thing since sliced bread! As much as I love the Internet though, it’s essentially holding our feet to the fire and forcing us to play a better game to survive and thrive in today’s global economy.

© 2007 Online Marketing Muscle -- All Rights Reserved.


Liked this article? Want to use it in your eZine, blog or web site? You have my blessing so long as you include the following complete blurb with it (including links).


Online entrepreneur Dean Mercado, "The Motivational Marketer", is creator of the acclaimed 'Pumped Up Networking' system geared to explode your business through professional relationships. To learn more about it and to sign up for his FREE eZine the 'Marketing Minute' – a weekly multimedia eZine designed to give you a jolt of marketing wisdom in less than 5 minutes, visit www.OnlineMarketingMuscle.com.

One Entrepreneur’s Way to Win the War of Competition!

“In accordance with our principles of free enterprise and healthy competition, I'm going to ask you two to fight to the death for it.” – Monty Python

You’ve got to love Monty Python! Yes, competition is healthy but no, rest assured you do not have to fight to the death for it. As a matter of fact I’d like to explore with you how you may be able to leverage it and make it work for you. WHAT – competition work for me? Yes, it can work for you! Tune in for a minute and try to keep an open mind here.

Several years back I was the CEO of a computer services company where we provided services like computer networking, network security, disaster recovery planning, as well as a few other in-demand services. The market was literally saturated with companies that did what we did. Competition not only came from other local similar-sized businesses but, from companies we didn’t even know played in our industry from all around the world no less – hah… there’s the boon and the bane of technology for you!

Anyway, would you believe it if I told you that most of my business came from my competition? In other words my competition would hire my company to provide services on their behalf to their customers. This is big business! As well as an additional revenue stream opportunity often overlooked by many companies.

So instead of fighting to the death with a competitor, as Monty Python so eloquently put it, how about establishing a relationship there and mining for the diamonds that may exist?

Now this approach might not work with all of your competitors however, if it works with just one, you’ve got access to a revenue stream that you didn’t have prior. Let alone if that competitor is a larger business than yours, their scraps could be your feasts.

This is a think-outside-of-the-box style potential winning strategy. And yes business is about winning whatever winning looks like to each individual business – whether it’s about profits, market share, ability to tithe, whatever makes your heart sing, it’s about winning. Lose enough and you can put yourself out of business in a hurry.

But just because it’s about winning doesn’t mean someone has to lose. Competition does not have to be WIN/LOSE scenario – in other words I win and you lose or vice versa. That premise comes from a scarcity mindset. And believe me, think about scarcity and you’ll get scarcity and that’s not something you want to attract into your business or your life. Think abundance or WIN/WIN and you’ll position yourself to allow abundance to flow in. There’s plenty of room in the business world for all of us – there’s plenty of customers, plenty of money to go around. To think any differently is sabotage.

So in closing, think about how you can leverage this strategy of partnering with your competition in a way where you both can win. Remember, I just opened the box for you here. It’s up to you to peer into that box with an abundance mindset and see what diamonds lay in waiting for you.

© 2007 Online Marketing Muscle -- All Rights Reserved.

Liked this article? Want to use it in your eZine, blog or web site? You have my blessing so long as you include the following complete blurb with it (including links).

Online entrepreneur Dean Mercado, "The Motivational Marketer", is creator of the acclaimed 'Pumped Up Networking' system geared to explode your business through professional relationships. To learn more about it and to sign up for his FREE eZine the 'Marketing Minute' – a weekly multimedia eZine designed to give you a jolt of marketing wisdom in less than 5 minutes, visit www.OnlineMarketingMuscle.com

Marketing Methodology: The 180° Marketing Method

Let me ask you a couple of point blank questions if I may – First, why would your target market choose you over your competition? And second, what are you doing to ensure that you stand out long enough to get noticed and ultimately hired?

For most of us, there is already a glutton of people and businesses out there who do what we do. There are tons of Financial Planners, CPA's, Internet Marketers, Business Coaches, Real Estate Agents, and so on. Bottom line, there’s a lot of competition all around you vying for a piece of the same pie – your pie!

And too many businesses today, like lemmings play follow the follower – only to be left in bewilderment wondering why they are not achieving the success they feel they should in their business. They take a “me too” approach to their marketing and expect ever increasing market share. The reality here is that this approach tends to blend you in with all others who provide similar products and services – positioning you to compete on price alone. And believe me, unless you’re moving tons of quantity, you do not want to be in that position.

I have to say that one of the greatest gifts that my master's degree in business administration has given me was the idea to study and leverage what I needed from world class companies in different industries. Although at the time I didn’t quite fully understand the extent of the significance of doing that, many years later I look back and WOW, what a gift! That gift has provided me with the basis for a marketing methodology that I call the 180° Marketing Method. The root idea of this methodology is simply to look at what your competition is doing and do something else – look into other industries and pioneer their successful marketing tactics and strategies in your industry.

Now I’m not telling you to stop doing a specific marketing tactic or strategy that works for you just because your competition happens to use the same one – Heck, leverage that one for all it’s worth. You may want to however put some thought into how to tweak that one a bit to help you stand out. Additionally though, I’m recommending that you employ other marketing tactics and strategies that your competition may not be using. Expand your horizons, look at other industries – How do they market, sell and deliver their products and services?

So how do you go about applying the180° Marketing Method? Well here are a few ideas to get you started:

1. Really know your target market. What’s important to them? How do they prefer to be communicated with and marketed to? Identify what works as well as what doesn’t work for them.


2. Really know your competition. Exactly how do they market and position themselves to your target market? If possible get on their mailing lists to stay abreast of their marketing efforts.


3. Look for great marketing and create a “swipe” file. If your challenge is marketing, what expert, business, or industry in your opinion does a great job at it? How do they effectively market themselves? Can you leverage their approach to use with your target market? Gather samples of their effective marketing copy as well as any other copy that you feel you can use to inspire your own.

So in closing, take note that doing the same thing your competition does just because that’s what everyone else does in your industry comes from a survival mindset and can be fatal. Want to skip that fate? Then I challenge you to adopt an abundance mindset and dare to be different by employing the 180° Marketing Method in your business today!


© 2006 Online Marketing Muscle -- All Rights Reserved.

Liked this article? Want to use it in your eZine, blog or web site? You have my blessing so long as you include this complete blurb with it (including links).

Online entrepreneur Dean Mercado, "The Motivational Marketer", is creator of the acclaimed 'Pumped Up Networking' system geared to explode your business through professional relationships.  To learn more about it and to sign up for his FREE eZine the 'Marketing Minute' – a weekly multimedia eZine designed to give you a jolt of marketing wisdom in less than 5 minutes, visit www.OnlineMarketingMuscle.com.

The 9 Simple Truths to Building an Unbreakable Relationship with Your Business Contacts

1. Do your homework
   With the arrival of the Internet in full force, it has never been easier to find out something about anyone. Just “Google” them, go ahead, type their name into Google and run a search. You’re bound to find out something you can use to help you bond with them. There’s nothing more flattering than when someone you meet with has obviously taken the time to learn a bit about you in advance.


2. Keep stellar records of interactions
   As business people we may make hundreds maybe even thousands of contacts each year making it all the more critical to keep good records. Today’s customer relationship management (CRM) software such as ACT! makes it real easy to effectively track interactions whether they are by email, meetings, or phone conversations. Now when we are about to resume conversations with someone we haven’t spoken to in a while, we can go back and see exactly where we left off.


3. Stay in touch
   There’s nothing worse than not following up with a new contact. You’ve gone through the process of meeting them, now what? Have a system for staying connected. Email marketing systems make this easier than ever. Although consistency is key here, be sure to make each contact purposeful and valuable to your contact.


4. Learn to listen
   We have the ability to hear but do we always listen intently when our contacts speak? If so, we probably wouldn’t forget their name within seconds after they tell us. Pay attention! Seek first to understand and then to be understood – not the other way around. Most of us are so busy trying to figure what to say next, that we don’t really listen to what the other person is saying.


5. Your word is gospel
   As a matter of fact, your word is all you have. It is gold, treat it as such. How? Be honest, it’s as simple as that. Abuse it with your contact, and you can damage your integrity and credibility with them, possibly forever.


6. Show respect
   Respect for your contact, their actions, beliefs and their time. This doesn’t mean you have to like it; you just need to respect it because it’s important to them. Nothing damages a relationship more than utter disrespect. This is even more reason to research your contact and find out what makes them tick. Hey, if you can avoid offending someone, why not do it.


7. Exercise Patience
   We live in a world of instant gratification. We want everything yesterday. While this can appeal to some, it wreaks havoc on our ability to be patient. Keep your cool. And most certainly don’t come off as desperate. And remember it’s okay to be persistent, just not pushy.


8. Be genuine
   Don’t be afraid to share something about yourself. People do business with people, not companies. Let your contact get to know you, the real you, and you’ll see some of your relationships grow to a deeper, more fruitful level.


9. Be a giver not a taker
   Let your generosity flow and if there’s any credence to the law of reciprocation, it will all and more come back to you in one way, shape or form. But give for the right reasons, without expectation of anything in return and allow yourself to experience the true gift of giving.

© 2006 Online Marketing Muscle -- All Rights Reserved.

Liked this article? Want to use it in your eZine, blog or web site? You have my blessing so long as you include this complete blurb with it (including links):

Online entrepreneur Dean Mercado, "The Motivational Marketer", is creator of the acclaimed 'Pumped Up Networking' system geared to explode your business through professional relationships.  To learn more about it and to sign up for his FREE eZine the 'Marketing Minute' – a weekly multimedia eZine designed to give you a jolt of marketing wisdom in less than 5 minutes, visit www.OnlineMarketingMuscle.com.

The Top 5 Steps to Position Yourself as the Obvious Expert in Your Field

1. Get Ready!
   Are you ready to assume the role of the obvious expert? Visualize yourself for a moment in your minds eye being in that role. What exactly does it look like? Got that picture in your mind? Now look the part! Sound the part! And BE the part! Talk the talk and walk the walk so to speak!
   
   Additionally, study existing experts and model their characteristics that you admire. Hang around with experts. Remember, you are the average of the 5 people that you spend the most time with, so make those 5 really count.


2. Get Seen!
   Did you ever hear the old cliché “a picture is worth a thousand words”? Well for the purposes of this discussion, it is so true! We are very visual by nature. Just look at the amount of television people watch on average every day – we simply thrive on visual stimulation.
   
   So with that in mind, find ways to get in front of your target market whenever possible. Not just physically as in in-person seminars, meetings, or other gatherings but, virtually as well – especially virtually. Find ways to get on television. Regardless of whether through commercials, talk shows, or on the news as a subject matter expert, people tend to believe what they see.
   
   For those of us who may have difficulty getting on television, today’s technology teamed with the power of the Internet makes using video even more powerful and possible for everyone. How you ask? Learn to use streaming video on your web site or better yet, deliver it directly to your target market’s inbox via email. The uses for streaming video are endless. I highly recommend you explore this one further however, here are a few suggestions to intrigue you:
   
   
   • Create virtual seminars – record it once and deliver it on demand – over and over again.
   
   
   • Deliver video postcards via email.
   
   
   • Develop information products that can be promoted and sold all over the Internet.


3. Get Heard!
   Next to video, audio is the next best thing. Speak to anyone willing listen. Get your message out there. How do you get your voice out there as a perceived expert? Well here are a few ideas:
   
   
   • Land radio interviews as a subject matter expert or better yet create your own radio show on the Internet.
   
   
   • Use technologies such as podcasting to deliver your message – subscribers can now listen to your podcast via their PC or other portable audio device such as an iPod at their convenience.
   
   
   • Conduct teleseminars posing you as a subject matter expert.


4. Get Read!
   Whether through writing books and articles or getting coverage by the press, learn to leverage the power of the written word. People tend to believe what they read and typically attach instant credibility to authors.
   
   Keep in mind that when you tell someone you’re an expert, they take it with a grain of salt. However, when a third party such as a respected publication says the same, it holds much more weight and adds instant credibility to you.


5. Get Discussed!
   Find ways to maintain top-of-mind awareness with your target market. Continually stir the pot and create a buzz about you. Repeatedly “wow” them and create a stampede of raving fans. Get the press on board! They have the power to instill significant influence over their audience – essentially they have the power to turn you into a “rock star” overnight.

So in closing, the bottom line is to position yourself as the obvious expert and make your target market feel that they would have to be crazy to do business with anyone but you!


© 2006 Online Marketing Muscle -- All Rights Reserved.

Liked this article? Want to use it in your eZine, blog or web site? You have my blessing so long as you include this complete blurb with it (including links):

Online entrepreneur Dean Mercado, "The Motivational Marketer", is creator of the acclaimed 'Pumped Up Networking' system geared to explode your business through professional relationships.  To learn more about it and to sign up for his FREE eZine the 'Marketing Minute' – a weekly multimedia eZine designed to give you a jolt of marketing wisdom in less than 5 minutes, visit www.OnlineMarketingMuscle.com.

Differentiate or Die – 3 Keys to Eclipse Your Competition

Differentiate or Die – 3 Keys to Eclipse Your Competition
By Dean Mercado


Quite frankly there are very few ways to really differentiate yourself from your competition. You make a great product, so do they. You provide top-notch customer service, they do too. Worse yet, there’s probably a competitor out there that already plays a bigger and better game than you. So what can you do about it? Well, here are 3 keys you can start applying immediately to differentiate and separate yourself from the pack:

1. Positioning. Let’s face it. People want to be associated with and buy from those they believe are the best. Back in the early computer days, there was a saying that nobody ever got fired for buying an IBM. IBM was believed by most to be the best personal computer available. Were they? Maybe. However, they were the perceived expert. Gaining this credibility in your field without a doubt tilts the scales in your favor. This is one of the greatest ways to magnetize your business and lead you on a path to create raving fans.

2. Relationship Building. Consistently stay in tune with and in front of your desired audience - not hard selling, but relationship building. When you truly and genuinely have their best interest at heart, and believe me, they can sense it, you lay the foundation for an insurmountable bond to be formed between you. Remember, people buy from people, not, companies.

3. The 180 Degree Marketing Method. The crux of this methodology is simply to look at what your competition is doing and do something else. Dare to be different. The best way to successfully pull this off is to look into other industries and pioneer their successful marketing ideas and techniques in your industry. I hate to be the one to tell you but, most marketing ideas and techniques have already been done somewhere by someone. So why try to reinvent the wheel. I’m not saying plagiarize here. I’m simply saying learn from the success others have had before you – especially by leveraging ideas and techniques that are new to your industry.


There’s a great quote floating around that’s attributed to both Zig Ziglar and Dr. Kenneth McFarland that goes something like this: “There are no traffic jams when you go the extra mile." Applying these 3 keys definitely get you traveling on that extra mile.

So while most businesses are out there like lemmings playing follow-the-follower, I challenge you to step it up and dare to be different. Be a leader and go it alone on the road less traveled and I guarantee people will stop and take notice.


© 2006 Online Marketing Muscle -- All Rights Reserved.

Liked this article? Want to use it in your eZine, blog or web site? You have my blessing so long as you include this complete blurb with it (including links):

Online entrepreneur Dean Mercado, "The Motivational Marketer," is creator of the acclaimed 'Pumped Up Networking' system geared to explode your business through professional relationships. To learn more about it and to sign up for his FREE eZine the “Marketing Minute” – a weekly multimedia eZine designed to give you a jolt of marketing wisdom in less than 5 minutes, visit www.OnlineMarketingMuscle.com.